Two Honda 2000 paralleled in place of shire power?

Sep 11, 2019
29
Catalina 40 mk ii Maui
I’m in the finishing stages of purchasing a 2000 Catalina 400 mkii.

I have one Honda 2000 and am wanting to buy another to parallel them. Does anyone have experience doing this? I considered buying a Honda 3000 but decided against that. I want to be able to power a 16k air conditioner and possibly the zantrex. There’s a 30 amp and a 50 amp shorepower plug in. Currently the 50 amp power cable is plugged in on shore power. I’ll be on my mooring. If I buy or make the parallel wires, do I buy adaptors from the 110 plugs on the generator to marry to the 30 amp male? Would I need a y adapter or splitter to plug into both generators? Or will one adaptor from one generator on parallel work. I feel like that is too much amperage or voltage going through a 110 plug adaptor. I don’t know why this is so confusing for me. Maybe because I don’t have the boat on Maui yet or the second generator and parallel wires. I did watch a diy video on you tube where the guy made his own adaptors. I’m not going that route.
 
May 24, 2004
7,129
CC 30 South Florida
We used a Honda 3000 for a while and it was a bust, it was just too bulky and heavy to be considered portable. Its weatherproofing was inadequate and we got rain water in the fuel tank one night. We have had a 2000 running all night under a torrential downpour and it did not skip a beat. Honda sells the harness to parallel two 2000 generators. Their combine output is under 26.6A so you can use a 30A connector to your shore power inlet. You use one unit as the Master to which you can connect a 20A plug. What you need is a single connector to marry a 20A plug to the 30A shore power inlet. The 2nd generator is just a Slave. If you purchase one of the model generators with a 30A receptacle then you can harness the full 26.6A and use a 30A plug instead of the 20A.
 
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Sep 11, 2019
29
Catalina 40 mk ii Maui
Thank you. That answered my question perfectly. My wish list includes putting a small panda in one of the lazarette compartments
 
Jan 22, 2008
61
Hunter Catalina 400 PORT JEFERSON, NY
Honda 2000?
I have a C400 MK1 with a 16000 btu ac for the aft cabin and I can run it on the 2000 but not in economy mode. I does not have enough output to fire up my inverter. It runs the one AC unit fine.

Alan J C400 MK1 S/V Skol
 
Sep 11, 2015
147
Hunter 31 Marina del Rey
I do not think you need the second Honda to run the AC, just to start it. One way is to investigate these start capacitors. Another, more reliable way is adjust your inverter settings so that it shares the load between the batteries and the generator. On my inverter (Heart Interface 15), there is a setting where it says take up to xA from shore power and if there is more load demand, take the rest from the batteries through the inverter. I have set this function to 5A and use a small 700W inverter generator. When I start a big load, I can see how the inverter goes from charging the batteries through the generator to discharging the batteries for a couple of seconds then goes back to normal. I think it is a less complex way to go than paralleling the Honda's.
 
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Sep 11, 2019
29
Catalina 40 mk ii Maui
Ooh! That’s promising. I might start with one and check out the inverter. It is lithium batteries with a zantrex 5000 watt. 590 solar. Here a pic of what I was looking at for a parallel going to a 30 amp shore power chord.
 

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May 20, 2016
3,014
Catalina 36 MK1 94 Everett, WA
The only problem with the Honda’s is they have a floating ground - it’s really -60 to +60 volts so make sure your wiring is not leaking to ground.
 
Jan 17, 2013
439
Catalina 310 St. Simons Island, GA
I can power my 16,000 BTU AC with a Honda 2000 but needed a dometic smart start on the AC as the capacitor. Starts and runs fine but cannot power anything else while the AC is running.
 
May 24, 2004
7,129
CC 30 South Florida
Let's not forget that these Generators need proper maintenance to maintain peak performance. A generator engine in need of a tune-up may not produce maximum power and may suffer a lag in producing surge power. Most of these A/C units will shut down when an instantaneous demand for power is not met. Honda's are pretty good in handling E15 gasoline but they are not impervious to its effects when not ran frequently. If your generator was running your A/C well and all of a sudden it erratically fails to start the compressor it might be time for some carburetor work. They are fairly easy to clean but most difficult to return to like new performance.
 
Sep 11, 2019
29
Catalina 40 mk ii Maui
This is what I ordered off amazon. I should be able to connect the 30 amp for the ac and zantrex. The 50 amp shore power is being used at the dock right now. I’ll store the 50 amp cable and buy a short 30 amp cable for generators to boat use at my mooring. If possible, I’ll use a longer 30 amp chord if I’m ever in a temporary slip. That will be rare to get on Maui plus the state wants too much money a month.
 
Oct 24, 2019
2
Catalina 380 Pittwater
Hi
I will preface this post by saying that I am not affiliated with Whispergen or any other marine service provider.
Go for a Whispergen Piccolo for your generator of choice. I fitted the Piccolo 5 in my C380 here in Australia myself and it is great. I though that a Honda was ok and it did what we asked but it is a pain to pull out and stow. The Whispergen is quiet, fitted nicely in the Starboard lazarette and is better than the baby Panda. It is also lighter, quieter and simpler being oil cooled. Power at the push of a button and the Admiral loves it.
We are on the mooring and it has made a huge difference to how well we can live and it uses around 1lt/hr dependent on load.
Cheers
Tom
 
Sep 11, 2019
29
Catalina 40 mk ii Maui
I still haven’t picked up the boat. The money transfers took longer than expected. I did get the wen combiner unit and picked up another Honda 2000. I have a 30 amp shorepower chord now too. It’s currently hooked up with the 50 amp. So in my mind, I’ll fire both Honda’s up and plug in the shorepower to the 30 female on the boat. I will put the 50 amp chord in storage. I haven’t looked yet to see if the 30 amp receptacle is hooked Up to anything. I’m hoping Catalina has it set up that you can use 30 or 50 at any time? I’m not sure if any previous owners have rewired anything. The 30 amp receptacle should go strait to the zantrex 3000 watt only correct? Or to the nav station first to shorepower switch and then the zantrex charger/ inverter. It’s been frustrating not having the boat on Maui where she will live starting Friday or Saturday from Oahu.
 
Apr 8, 2011
768
Hunter 40 Deale, MD
Hi
I will preface this post by saying that I am not affiliated with Whispergen or any other marine service provider.
Go for a Whispergen Piccolo for your generator of choice. I fitted the Piccolo 5 in my C380 here in Australia myself and it is great. I though that a Honda was ok and it did what we asked but it is a pain to pull out and stow. The Whispergen is quiet, fitted nicely in the Starboard lazarette and is better than the baby Panda. It is also lighter, quieter and simpler being oil cooled. Power at the push of a button and the Admiral loves it.
We are on the mooring and it has made a huge difference to how well we can live and it uses around 1lt/hr dependent on load.
Cheers
Tom
Was hoping that Nineteen could provide an update on his Piccolo generator after a couple of years. Its been a pain getting them here in the US, but I think they have great promise and I'd like to steer clear of Panda if I can. Any update Nineteen? How has it held up? Anything failed? Does it keep up with refrigeration and A/C and other house loads? How many amps can it put into your batteries when they need a recharge?
 
Apr 8, 2011
768
Hunter 40 Deale, MD
Thanks Kappy. Thought i'd give it a shot. That new generator tech is pretty cool, the smallest weighing significantly less than the smallest Panda. Good lord generators are expensive to buy and install though!! Appreciate the update on Nineteen.